Niv Lilien – www.israelhayom.com https://www.israelhayom.com israelhayom english website Wed, 24 Nov 2021 12:33:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://www.israelhayom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/cropped-G_rTskDu_400x400-32x32.jpg Niv Lilien – www.israelhayom.com https://www.israelhayom.com 32 32 US tech giant Salesforce buys Israel's Clicksoftware for $1.35B https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/08/08/us-tech-giant-salesforce-buys-israeli-company-clicksoftware-for-1-35b/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/08/08/us-tech-giant-salesforce-buys-israeli-company-clicksoftware-for-1-35b/#respond Thu, 08 Aug 2019 05:36:18 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=402611 In yet another successful exit for an Israeli high-tech company, field service software company Clicksoftware was bought for $1.35 billion on Wednesday night by US tech giant Salesforce. Salesforce will pay in cash and shares and is expected to complete the deal by October 31, 2019. Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter Based in […]

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In yet another successful exit for an Israeli high-tech company, field service software company Clicksoftware was bought for $1.35 billion on Wednesday night by US tech giant Salesforce.

Salesforce will pay in cash and shares and is expected to complete the deal by October 31, 2019.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Based in Petah Tikva, Clicksoftware is owned by US private equity fund Francisco Partners.

The company has 200 employees in Israel and develops logistical management systems for customer service and technical support, sending out technicians and tracking the results. The company was founded more than 20 years ago by Moshe Benbassat, who has since left the company.

Clicksoftware reported annual revenue of $144 million in 2016.

Salesforce said in a statement that ClickSoftware "enables companies to intelligently schedule and optimize field service work. Salesforce Field Service Lightning, built on Service Cloud, harnesses the latest in dispatching, mobile workforce empowerment and IoT technologies to empower companies to connect their entire service workforce on a single, centralized platform. With the combined capabilities of Field Service Lightning and ClickSoftware, Salesforce will be positioned to lead the way to the future of field service."

Israeli high-tech companies were part of 66 exit deals amounting to $14.48 billion in the first half of 2019 alone, setting a five-year record, business analysis firm IVC–Meitar reported in July.

The total value reached by such deals in the first half of 2018 amounted to nearly $6.5 billion. Overall, Israeli high-tech companies were part of merger and acquisition deals amounting to $13 billion in 2018.

In 2013, the Tel-Aviv-based Waze navigation application was purchased by Google for $1.1 billion.

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Nokia fan page uses crying IDF soldiers to promote phone https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/12/outrage-after-nokia-fan-page-uses-crying-idf-soldiers-to-promote-phone/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/12/outrage-after-nokia-fan-page-uses-crying-idf-soldiers-to-promote-phone/#respond Fri, 12 Apr 2019 08:44:57 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=356939 An Instagram page created by Nokia fans has unwittingly touched a nerve among Israelis after it used a picture of soldiers crying in a funeral. The page nokiamobile_official, which is not officially linked to the phone giant, posted the controversial picture, showing soldiers sobbing at the funeral of their comrade Ilan Swiatkowski, who was killed by […]

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An Instagram page created by Nokia fans has unwittingly touched a nerve among Israelis after it used a picture of soldiers crying in a funeral.

The page nokiamobile_official, which is not officially linked to the phone giant, posted the controversial picture, showing soldiers sobbing at the funeral of their comrade Ilan Swiatkowski, who was killed by terrorists on the Gaza border in 2010.

In the picture, every sobbing soldier represents a Nokia competitor that is worried about the upcoming rollout of a new Nokia phone that year. The bottom of the picture has the caption: "Nokia9 coming soon..."

A soldier who appears in the picture spoke with Israel Hayom and expressed outrage over the improper use. "I hope they take it down now that this issue has been raised," he said. "This is a funeral for one of my friends, it is not funny."

The page manager told Israel Hayom that he was not aware of the sensitivity, adding that he decided to use the picture after stumbling upon it in a Google search.

As of Thursday, the picture was still on the page.

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Israeli spacecraft makes complex lunar capture as it prepares for moon landing https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/04/israeli-spacecraft-makes-complex-lunar-capture-as-it-prepares-for-moon-landing/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/04/israeli-spacecraft-makes-complex-lunar-capture-as-it-prepares-for-moon-landing/#respond Thu, 04 Apr 2019 15:12:45 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=354107 The Israeli spacecraft Beresheet reached a critical milestone on Thursday after it successfully entered the moon's orbit. The complex maneuver to enter the moon's gravity, called lunar capture, was particularly important, as it was key to making a soft landing on the moon, scheduled for April 11. Earlier this week, Beresheet ("In the beginning," the […]

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The Israeli spacecraft Beresheet reached a critical milestone on Thursday after it successfully entered the moon's orbit.

The complex maneuver to enter the moon's gravity, called lunar capture, was particularly important, as it was key to making a soft landing on the moon, scheduled for April 11.

Earlier this week, Beresheet ("In the beginning," the Hebrew name for the Book of Genesis) passed Earth for the final time.

If the mission succeeds, Israel will become the fourth country to make a soft landing on the moon, after the Soviet Union, the United States and China.

The Beresheet mission was originally part of the Google Lunar XPrize competition and even made the final cut before the contest ended last year without a winner.

The organizers decided to press ahead on their own, and the project – which cost around 100 million dollars – was financed largely by philanthropists Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson together with SpaceIL President Morris Kahn, as well as other donors from around the world.

The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom. Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of Israel Hayom.

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Israel enters 'exclusive' club of countries to launch moon mission https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/02/22/israel-officially-enters-exclusive-club-of-countries-to-launch-moon-mission/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/02/22/israel-officially-enters-exclusive-club-of-countries-to-launch-moon-mission/#respond Thu, 21 Feb 2019 22:00:00 +0000 http://www.israelhayom.com/israel-officially-enters-exclusive-club-of-countries-to-launch-moon-mission/ An Israeli spacecraft rocketed toward the moon overnight Thursday for the country's first attempted lunar landing, following a launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida by SpaceX. A communications satellite for Indonesia was the main cargo aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, which illuminated the sky as it took flight. But Israel's privately funded […]

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An Israeli spacecraft rocketed toward the moon overnight Thursday for the country's first attempted lunar landing, following a launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida by SpaceX.

A communications satellite for Indonesia was the main cargo aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, which illuminated the sky as it took flight. But Israel's privately funded lunar lander – a first not just for Israel but commercial space – generated the buzz.

Israel seeks to become only the fourth country to successfully land on the moon, after Russia, the U.S. and China. The spacecraft – called Beresheet, Hebrew for Genesis or "In the Beginning" – will take nearly two months to reach the moon.

"We thought it's about time for a change, and we want to get little Israel all the way to the moon," said Yonatan Winetraub, co-founder of Israel's SpaceIL, a nonprofit organization behind the effort.

The moon, nearly full and glowing brightly, beckoned as it rose in the eastern sky. Within an hour after liftoff, Beresheet was already sending back data and had successfully deployed its landing legs, according to SpaceIL.

"We'll keep analyzing the data, but the bottom line is we entered the very exclusive group of countries that have launched a spacecraft to the moon," said Yigal Harel, head of SpaceIL's spacecraft program. He said it was thrilling to witness the launch in person and to know Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was watching it live from the control center in Yehud, Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, watch the Genesis launch from the control center in Yehud Eliran Avital

"Four countries have launched a spacecraft to the moon. One of them is 800 times bigger than us, one is 500 times bigger and another is a little less than that. We are a small country, but gigantic in our achievements and our ability to innovate. I hope they are already planning a spacecraft to Mars," Netanyahu said.

The four-legged Beresheet, barely the size of a washing machine, will circle Earth in ever larger loops until it's captured by lunar gravity and goes into orbit around the moon. Touchdown would be April 11 at the Sea of Serenity.

The Beresheet mission originally was part of the Google Lunar XPrize competition and even made the final cut before the contest ended last year without a winner. The organizers decided to press ahead on their own, and the project was financed largely by Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson together with SpaceIL president and billionaire high-tech developer Morris Kahn, as well as other donors from around the world.

"I have faith we will succeed [in landing on the moon]," Kahn told Israel Hayom. "We will meet to celebrate on April 11."

NASA's Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s took about three days to get astronauts to the moon, but they used monstrous Saturn V rockets. The $100 million Beresheet mission couldn't afford its own rocket – even a little one – so the organizers opted for a ride share. That makes for a much longer trip; the moon right now is nearly 230,000 miles (370,000 kilometers) away.

"This is Uber-style space exploration, so we're riding shotgun on the rocket," Winetraub explained at a news conference on the eve of launch.

Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis said: "We are witness to one of the historical benchmarks of the State of Israel. [It is] an occasion of pride and industriousness, thought and trailblazing Israeli innovation. We are a technological power and a hotbed for minds that think outside the box. It was proven today that great dreams lead to even greater reality."

The U.S. Air Force also has a small research spacecraft aboard the rocket, for a one-year mission in orbit around Earth.

The Soviet Union was the first to put a spacecraft on the moon, Luna 2, in 1959. NASA followed with the Ranger 4 spacecraft in 1962. Last month, China became the first country to land on the far side of the moon

Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin quickly offered congratulations following Thursday's launch. So did NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who called it "a historic step for all nations and commercial space as we look to extend our collaborations beyond low-Earth orbit and on to the moon." NASA has a laser reflector aboard Beresheet and is offering its Deep Space Network for communication.

"All the best to @TeamSpaceIL as it starts its journey tonight on a @SpaceX #Falcon9 from Florida to my old stomping ground ...the moon," Aldrin tweeted.

Lunar surface operations are meant to last just two days. Beresheet will measure the magnetic field at the landing site, and send back data and pictures. A time capsule is aboard the lander – which includes a picture of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died aboard space shuttle Columbia in 2003 – as well as a lunar library containing 30 million pages on a disk from the U.S.-based Arch Mission Foundation.

Ramon's widow, Rona, was a big supporter of Beresheet; she died of cancer in December.

Following liftoff, SpaceX recovered the first-stage booster, which flew twice last year. The booster landed smoothly on an offshore ocean platform, after the hottest re-entry yet, according to SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk. Sparks from burning metal were visible in the landing video.

Musk said the booster will fly a fourth time in April, during a launch abort test of the new crew Dragon capsule. No one will be aboard.

The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom. Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of Israel Hayom.

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Facebook blocks 783 Iran-linked pages, accounts and groups from its service https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/02/01/facebook-blocks-783-iran-linked-pages-accounts-and-groups-from-its-service/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/02/01/facebook-blocks-783-iran-linked-pages-accounts-and-groups-from-its-service/#respond Thu, 31 Jan 2019 22:00:00 +0000 http://www.israelhayom.com/facebook-blocks-783-iran-linked-pages-accounts-and-groups-from-its-service/ Facebook said Thursday it has removed 783 Iran-linked pages, accounts and groups from its service for what it called "coordinated inauthentic behavior." That's the social network's term for fake accounts run with the intent of disrupting politics and elections. Facebook has been disclosing such purges more regularly in recent months, including ones linked to groups […]

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Facebook said Thursday it has removed 783 Iran-linked pages, accounts and groups from its service for what it called "coordinated inauthentic behavior." That's the social network's term for fake accounts run with the intent of disrupting politics and elections.

Facebook has been disclosing such purges more regularly in recent months, including ones linked to groups in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Russia.

The accounts on Facebook and Instagram typically misrepresented themselves as locals in more than two dozen countries ranging from Israel, the United States, European Union member countries, Yemen, Pakistan, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Germany, India and Saudi Arabia.

Facebook said Thursday the accounts spent about $30,000 on advertisements, paid for in U.S. dollars, British pounds, Canadian dollars and euros.

The company said Twitter helped its investigation by sharing information about suspicious activity it found on its own service. The companies, along with others in the tech industry, have been cooperating more when it comes to such account takedowns by sharing information.

Such cooperation can help the companies avoid regulatory scrutiny by showing critics and lawmakers that they can set aside differences when it comes to battling outside threats that affect their users.

The latest removed accounts, Facebook said, typically represented themselves as locals in various countries, often using fake accounts and posting news stories on current events. This included using stories from Iranian state media about conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

On the Israeli front, the Iranian effort focused on highlighting the Palestinian issue and the situation in Syria. Facebook also said that some of the Iranian fake accounts were critical and derisive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In September 2018, Israeli cybersecurity firm ClearSky warned that Iran's propaganda and misinformation campaign ‎against Israel includes fake news websites in ‎Hebrew and Arabic.‎

ClearSky at the time also identified 14 fake Facebook ‎profiles and 11 fake Twitter accounts, with thousands of followers between them, that were part ‎of the Iranian misinformation network. Many of these ‎accounts were shut down after being ‎uncovered, the company said.‎

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EU mulls acting against social media giants over ‎terror-related content https://www.israelhayom.com/2018/08/21/eu-mulls-acting-against-social-media-giants-over-%e2%80%8eterror-related-content-%e2%80%8e/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2018/08/21/eu-mulls-acting-against-social-media-giants-over-%e2%80%8eterror-related-content-%e2%80%8e/#respond Mon, 20 Aug 2018 21:00:00 +0000 http://www.israelhayom.com/eu-mulls-acting-against-social-media-giants-over-%e2%80%8eterror-related-content-%e2%80%8e/ The European Union is currently drafting legislation ‎by which social media giants will have only one hour ‎to remove content inciting to violence and ‎terrorist, the Financial Times reported Monday.‎ Removal of such content in an hour is currently ‎voluntary, but according to the report, the EU plans ‎to impose the one-hour deadline next month. […]

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The European Union is currently drafting legislation ‎by which social media giants will have only one hour ‎to remove content inciting to violence and ‎terrorist, the Financial Times reported Monday.‎

Removal of such content in an hour is currently ‎voluntary, but according to the report, the EU plans ‎to impose the one-hour deadline next month. ‎
Once this directive is in place, social media giants ‎such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter would have to ‎remove content inciting to violence and terrorist ‎within an hour of it being flagged as illegal by law ‎enforcement bodies. ‎

EU Commissioner for Security Julian King said the ‎new regulation would apply to websites of all ‎sizes, ‎saying the new directives aimed to clarify what up ‎until now has been a vague issue. ‎

‎"All this leads to such content continuing to ‎proliferate across the internet, reappearing once ‎deleted and spreading from platform to platform," he ‎said. ‎

He noted that the European Commission has decided to ‎abandon a voluntary approach to get social media ‎platforms to remove terror-related videos, posts and ‎audio clips from their websites as it had "not seen ‎enough progress" on the issue. ‎

Brussels seeks to "take stronger action in order to ‎better protect our citizens. We cannot afford to ‎relax or become complacent in the face of such a ‎shadowy and destructive phenomenon," King said.‎

The proposed regulation would be the first time that ‎the EU has explicitly targeted how social media ‎giants handle extreme content of this nature. ‎

‎"The difference in size and resources means ‎platforms have differing capabilities to act against ‎terrorist content and their policies for doing so ‎are not always transparent. All this leads to such ‎content continuing to proliferate across the ‎internet, reappearing once deleted and spreading ‎from platform to platform," King told the Financial ‎Times. ‎

The draft regulation still has to be approved by the ‎‎European Parliament and a majority of EU member ‎‎states to be enacted, he said. ‎

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